O.C. docs study mummies for health clues

Dr. Greg Thomas, left, and his colleague Dr. Michael Miyamoto, of the Mission Internal Medical Group in Mission Viejo, went to the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt in February 2009 to do CT scans on mummies. What they found was evidence of plaques in the arteries -- atherosclerosis, which was thought to be a very modern illness. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Tutankhamen was not your typical vibrant 19-year-old. In fact, he was a wreck.

King Tut, as he would become known during the 1970s, when traveling tours of his treasures turned him into an archaeological rock star, ruled for only nine years before his death around 1324 BC. We know the boy pharaoh had a broken leg, probably from a fall. But until this week, we didn't know how ill he was: He had a cleft palate, mild clubfoot in his left foot and other bone disorders that made him so frail he couldn't walk without a cane or walking stick — there were 130 of them found inside his tomb when it was discovered in 1922.

It was a malaria infection that finally killed the frail king, scientists suggest in a new study, which was conducted by European researchers and Egyptologists and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last week.

What do the health problems of Tut and other ancient people have to teach us? Plenty, say two Mission Viejo doctors who have studied mummies and unlocked their centuries-old medical secrets.

Dr. Greg Thomas and Dr. Michael Miyamoto, cardiologists who work together at Mission Internal Medical Group at Mission Hospital, went to Cairo in February last year. They and other members of a team that included Egyptian archaeologists examined 20 mummies at the National Museum of Antiquities. The museum selected 10 mummies, and Thomas got to choose the other 10. He was led through the dimly lit basement, where barely examined mummies in wooden coffins are stacked five or six high.

"I had goosebumps walking down there," Thomas said. "It was like a scene from the set of an 'Indiana Jones' movie. It was better than a set, because it was the real thing."

The mummies were run through the CT scanner's tube. Whenever possible, the wood sarcophagus – often elaborately decorated – was loaded in. If it wouldn't fit, the mummy itself, wrapped only in linen browned by age, was sent through. The subsequent images showed evidence of atherosclerosis — hardening of arteries caused by a buildup of plaques inside them.

Plaques are complex substances, made up of fats (including cholesterol) and other tissues. The most dangerous ones are found in arteries in the heart, neck and legs. If the buildup reaches a point at which blood flow is constricted, it can cause pain, blood clots, and — if the blockage is in the coronary artery — a heart attack. A stent can be used to plow through the plaque, pressing it against the arterial wall and restoring blood flow. But over time, plaques calcify, and there's no way to remove them.

Thomas and Miyamoto found that the soft material in the plaques inside the mummies had long disappeared, but calcium deposits remained — unmistakable evidence of atherosclerosis. The condition previously had been thought to be a modern malady, attributable to a diet heavy in animal fats and processed foods. But of the 16 mummies in which arterial tissue was present, nine had calcium buildup — often visible on the CT scans as only a tiny white dot.

As Thomas points out, ancient Egyptians led active lifestyles and generally were healthy, even though they consumed cattle, goats, antelope and other meat. So there's a strong possibility that atherosclerosis occurs naturally in the body.

"I don't think we've figured out atherosclerosis as well as we thought we did," Thomas said. "Humans had it 4,000 years ago, so we're missing something."

In a strange way, knowing that atherosclerosis is a "genetic hand-me-down from the human race" comes as a relief to many of the patients he's treated, Thomas said. "We tend to think our actions cause a lot of what's wrong in our lives."

The doctors' findings were published in JAMA in November, and since then, Miyamoto says, many people have taken a "fatalistic" view of the research.

"People say, if there's nothing we can do about it, we may as well all go out and eat burgers and fries," Miyamoto said. "I think it's the opposite. Even though we may all develop atherosclerosis, we can modulate the severity through our lifestyles and aggressive treatment of risk factors.

"We want to die with the atherosclerosis, not because of it."

The doctors are returning to Cairo in late April or early May to examine 20 more mummies. The remains studied last year were not those of royalty, but people held in high esteem — generals or cabinet secretaries. The oldest among them was Lady Rai, a nursemaid to Queen Nefertiti, who lived between 1570 and 1530 BC, about 200 years before Tut. Only four of the 20 mummies studied had hearts intact, and those were often so flattened it was difficult to examine them on the images. The doctors hope to find more hearts in younger mummies on the return trip, since the hearts were more frequently left in during later mummifications.

They also will look for mummies from a lower class, to see if the rich diet of the upper classes studied last year might play more of a role in atherosclerosis. "We want to see whether it was ubiquitous regardless of class," Thomas said.

The Tut research, too, provides scientists with valuable information, particularly about malaria, Thomas said. Since infectious diseases like malaria — which is spread by mosquitoes in tropical and subtropical areas, like the Nile Valley — and H1N1 can mutate, it's challenging for specialists to stay one step ahead of them by tweaking vaccines to prevent them.

"This gives us more data points on what malaria's been doing all this time," Thomas said.

Dr. Greg Thomas, left, and his colleague Dr. Michael Miyamoto, of the Mission Internal Medical Group in Mission Viejo, went to the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt in February 2009 to do CT scans on mummies. What they found was evidence of plaques in the arteries -- atherosclerosis, which was thought to be a very modern illness. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A CT scan image of a mummy that was made in February 2009 at the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt, by Dr. Greg Thomas, and his colleague Dr. Michael Miyamoto, of the Mission Internal Medical Group in Mission Viejo. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A CT scan image of a mummy that was made in February 2009 at the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt, by Dr. Greg Thomas, and his colleague Dr. Michael Miyamoto, of the Mission Internal Medical Group in Mission Viejo. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dr. Greg Thomas, left, and his colleague Dr. Michael Miyamoto, of the Mission Internal Medical Group in Mission Viejo, with a CT image of a mummy that they made in February 2009 at the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A CT scan image of a mummy that was made in February 2009 at the Egyptian National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt, by Dr. Greg Thomas, and his colleague Dr. Michael Miyamoto, of the Mission Internal Medical Group in Mission Viejo. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
ECAD Study February 2009 Two Mission Viejo doctors are going to Cairo for a second round of studies involving mummies. Photo from ECAD Study February 2009 Egyptian Museum
A mummy at Egypt's National Museum of Antiquities being prepared for a CT scan in February 2009. Dr. Gregory Thomas and Dr. Michael Miyamoto of Mission Viejo conducted research on 20 mummies and found that many of them had atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, based on calcium deposits still present inside their blood vessels. DR. MICHAEL MIYAMOTO
A team of researchers at the National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo preparing to load remains of an ancient Egyptian into a CT scanner. DR. MICHAEL MIYAMOTO
The mummies were preserved inside sarcophaguses, but if they didn't fit inside the CT scanner, the remains would be gently removed. Often they were shrouded in linen, but sometimes their leathery skin was exposed. DR. MICHAEL MIYAMOTO
A sarcophagus is opened by staffers at the National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo in February 2009. A team of researchers and Egyptologists received approval to study the remains with modern imaging techniques. DR. MICHAEL MIYAMOTO
The mummies studied last year were between 1,645 and 3,990 years ago. By contrast, King Tut, the most famous mummy of all, died only 3,334 years ago -- at age 19. DR. MICHAEL MIYAMOTO
A mummy is loaded into a CT scanner at the National Museum of Antiquties in Cairo in February 2009. The machine spins around the body, taking 10 photographs a second. It's the same machine used to scan the mummied remains of King Tut. DR. MICHAEL MIYAMOTO
Using a CT scan allowed researchers to look inside the bodies with a minimum amount of intrusion. In fact, the images produced often turned up amulets and other personal effects placed on the body during the mummification process. DR. MICHAEL MIYAMOTO
Hieroglyphic writing on the feet of a mummy's formal wrappings. The mummification process, often conducted by clergymen, took 78 days. DR. MICHAEL MIYAMOTO
Researchers examine the ceremonial mask and sarcophagus of a mummy studied at the National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo in February 2009. DR. MICHAEL MIYAMOTO
Dr. Greg Thomas, a Mission Viejo cardiologist and clinical professor at UC Irvine, and his son Ian at the National Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. DR. MICHAEL MIYAMOTO
Dr. Michael Miyamoto, a Mission Viejo cardiologist and clinical professor at UC San Diego, poses with a mummy at the National Museum of Antiquties in Cairo. DR. MICHAEL MIYAMOTO
A CT scan of a mummy shows necklaces it was wearing whent it was mummified and entombed. DR. MICHAEL MIYAMOTO
The researchers took great care with the mummies, many of which contained personal treasures. This body still has rings on its fingers. DR. MICHAEL MIYAMOTO

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